Fed up with the critical comments from players and coaches, NBA Commissioner David Stern has chosen to rock his inner Dirty Harry. The commissioner hasn’t threatened to shoot anyone but he will fine your sorry ass if you are a player and call out game officials on your blog or if you are a coach who gripes about calls during a playoff game you’re going to be losing some of your coin too.
It appears the commissioner did not take kindly to Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard’s bitching on his blog about how he perceived himself as having been treated unfairly by officials during the playoff series in Charlotte:

“I’m not looking to say anything to get myself in trouble with the league, but I just don’t see other star players getting called for fouls the way I get them,” Howard posted on his blog. “No star player in the league is outta games the way I am.”

While Howard may have not been looking for trouble, as the saying goes, trouble found him. To the tune of a $35,000.00 fine. And fans reacted on his blog. There are 149 comments on Howard’s blog some comments advise him he is representing G0d on the court, so he should behave accordingly and others demand for Stern to step down. Still others discuss how is it possible the NBA has the authority to fine a player for comments made on their own personal blog, after all it’s their opinion and aren’t they allowed to express it?

David Stern doesn’t think so. In fact Stern has gotten so fed up with the complaining he has challenged players and coaches to “Make my day” essentially putting everyone on notice that if players and coaches continue to have outbursts on the court or on their blogs during the remainder of the playoffs, he’s going to impose more fines.

The NBA clearly states what is expected by players and coaches regarding what they wear and how they behave, and also includes a rule about unsportsmanlike conduct. But what is the social media policy for NBA players and coaches that covers blogging? Last fall the NBA released one type of social media policy governing when- before, during or after a game -players are permitted to access Facebook and Twitter, but I couldn’t find anything addressing blog posts or comments. I contacted the NBA and they graciously agreed to send me their social media policy. And I read it. It is the same one released last fall and mentions nothing about blogging which means, at least to me, whatever is written on a blog is covered by the rule regarding how players and coaches are expected to speak to the media.

So coaches and players, before you post anything negative on a blog, you’ve got to ask yourself a question, “Do I feel lucky?”

[phot0: Getty Image]

View Original Post at draftdaysuit.com

• Filed Under:  
• Basketball, Sports, NBA

• Tags:
• Basketball
• NBA
• Dwight Howard
• david stern

This post is related to the following ongoing stories:

• nba playoffs